Safety seat tether system

ABSTRACT

A guide mechanism for a safety seat tether includes a guide and at least one seat back attachment for securing the guide to a seat back. The guide is configured and positioned so as to prevent substantial contact of the tether with a top end of the back seat. The guide may also prevent pressure contact of the tether with upper portions of the front and back surfaces of the seat back. The seat back attachment cooperates with head sleeves on the top end of the seat back to secure the guide to the top end of the seat back.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the field of safety restraintsystems. In particular, the invention provides systems and methods forguiding a safety seat tether.

In conventional systems, safety seats, such as child booster seats, areprovided with a tether to secure the safety seat to the vehicle or tothe car seat on which the safety seat is positioned. In this regard, atether is typically provided to extend from the back of the safety seatto a latch behind the car seat. The tether may be tensioned to preventsubstantial movement of the safety seat. The tension of the tether cancause the tether to deform the upholstery or the cushioning of the carseat, resulting in an undesirable seat appearance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The disclosed embodiments of the present invention provide systems andmethods for guiding a safety seat tether to prevent or limit deformationor decoloration of the car seat.

One aspect of the invention relates to a guide for a safety seat tether.The guide includes at least one seat back attachment for securing theguide to a seat back, the seat back having a top end, and at least onetether bar adapted to guide a tether around the top end, the tether barsbeing supported at least in part by the seat back attachments.

In a particular embodiment, the at least one seat back attachmentincludes at least one insert adapted to be inserted into a headrestsleeve of the seat back. The at least one insert may include two insertsadapted to be inserted into two corresponding sleeves of the seat back.

In a particular embodiment, the at least one tether bar includes atleast two bars being spaced apart.

In another embodiment, the at least one tether bar includes a contactsurface that contacts the tether, the surface being disposedsufficiently away from the seat back so as to prevent pressure contactof the tether with at least a front surface of the seat back. Thecontact surface may be contoured to guide the tether around the top endwithout substantial contact with the top end. In another embodiment, thecontact surface is contoured to guide the tether to prevent substantialcontact with a backside of the seat back.

In a particular embodiment, the seat back attachments and the at leastone tether bar are integrally formed. The seat back attachments and theat least one bar may form a substantially continuous rod. In oneembodiment, the rod includes bends to form transitions between two ormore segments of the continuous rod. At least one of the segments may beeither a seat back attachment or a tether bar. At least one of thesegments may be a transition segment positioned between the at least onetether bar and one of another tether bar and a seat back attachment.

The rod may include two end segments each forming a seat backattachment; three central segments, each forming a tether bar; and oneor more transition segments, each transition segment joining a centralsegment with at least one of another central segment and an end segment.In one embodiment, the rod is formed of a hollow tube.

In another aspect of the invention, a guide for a safety seat tetherincludes means for guiding a tether around a top end of a seat back andmeans for securing the means for guiding to the seat back.

In another aspect, the invention includes a safety seat tether guidesystem. The system includes a seat back for a vehicle seat, the vehicleseat being adapted to accommodate a safety seat, the seat back having atop end. The system also includes a tether guide, the tether guideincluding at least one seat back attachment for securing the guide tothe seat back and at least one tether bar adapted to guide a tetheraround the top end of the seat back. The at least one tether bar extendssubstantially parallel to the top end and is supported at least in partby the seat back attachments.

In another aspect, the invention includes a guide for a safety seattether. The guide includes a seat attachment having two legs forinsertion into headrest sleeves positioned at a top end of a back of theseat, and a plurality of tether bars supported by the two legs andadapted to guide a tether around the top end of the seat back so as toprevent substantial contact of the tether with the top end.

Another aspect of the invention includes a method of tethering a safetyseat positioned against a seat back. The method includes guiding atether of the safety seat around a top end of the seat back by passingthe tether over one or more tether bars, the tether bars extendingsubstantially parallel to the top end and being supported at least inpart by one or more seat back attachments. The method also includessecuring a free end of the tether to a tether latch.

In another aspect of the invention, a method of securing a child safetyseat to a car seat includes the steps of attaching one end of a tetherto a back of the child safety seat, securing tether bars to a top end ofa back of the car seat by means of attachments inserted into headrestsleeves of the car seat, guiding the tether around the top end of thecare seat back by passing the tether over one or more tether bars, andsecuring another end of the tether to a tether latch. The tether barsare positioned above the top end such as to prevent the tether fromcontacting the top end when the child safety seat is secured.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Exemplary embodiments will hereafter be described with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a safety seat tetheringsystem according to the present invention;

FIG. 2A is a front perspective view of the system of FIG. 1 with anexemplary tether;

FIG. 2B is a rear perspective view of the system of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 2C is a cross-section side view of the system of FIGS. 2A and 2B;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of another embodiment of a safety seattethering system according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a tether guide according to another embodiment of theinvention; and

FIG. 5 illustrates a tether guide according to still another embodimentof the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIG. 1, a perspective view of an embodiment of a system fortethering of a safety seat is illustrated. The tethering system 100includes a car seat 110 having a seat back 111. The seat back 111 has atop end 112 adapted to accommodate at least one headrest. The seat back111 has a front surface 113 a and a back surface 113 b (most clearlyseen in FIG. 2C). The top end 112 of the seat back 111 is provided withheadrest sleeves 114 to receive headrest inserts therein. The car seat110 may be any seat in a vehicle, such as a rear seat or a middle rowseat, as is commonly found in many minivans. The car seat 110 is adaptedto accommodate thereupon a safety seat (shown in FIG. 2C), such as achild safety seat or a toddler booster seat, for example.

The tethering system 100 also includes a tether guide 200 adapted toguide a tether around at least the top end 112 of the seat back 111. Inthis regard, the illustrated tether guide 200 includes tether bars 204a-c positioned to guide a tether around the top end 112 of the seat back111. In a particular embodiment, the tether guide 200 includes two ormore tether bars 204 spaced apart. In this regard, the tether bars 204are positioned to guide a tether so as to prevent substantial contactbetween the tether and the seat back 111, particularly the top end 112.In the illustrated embodiment, the tether guide 200 is provided withthree tether bars 204 a-c positioned substantially parallel to the topend 112 of the seat back 111.

The tether bars 204 a-c are supported by seat back attachments 202 a-b,which secure the tether guide 200 to the seat back 111. In theillustrated embodiment, the seat back attachments 202 a-b are formed asinserts adapted to be inserted into the headrest sleeve 114. In theparticular embodiment of FIG. 1, two inserts are provided to be insertedinto two corresponding headrest sleeves of the seat back 111.

To support the tether bars 202 a-c, transitional segments, such astransitional segments 208 a-c, are provided between the tether bars 204a-c and either a seat back attachment 202 a-b or another tether bar 204a-c. In this regard, the transitional segments 208 a-c may besubstantially perpendicular to the tether bars 204 a-c.

The tether guide 200 may be formed in a variety of configurations. Forexample, the seat back attachments and the at least one tether bar maybe integrally formed. In the particular embodiment illustrated in FIG.1, the tether guide 200 is formed as a single continuous rod havingvarious segments. The continuous rod may be formed of a variety ofmaterials, such as a hollow metal tube. The segments include two endsegments each forming a seat back attachment. The tether bars are formedby three central segments. Transitional segments are provided to allowthe seat back attachments to support the tether bars. Accordingly, thetransitional segments are positioned between a tether bar and eitheranother tether bar or a seat back attachment.

The tether guide 200 includes bends, such as bend 206, in the continuousrod to form transitions between segments of the continuous rod. Forexample, the bend 206 forms a transition between the tether bar 204 cand the transitional segment 208 a. Similar bends are provided to form atransitions between the various other segments of the continuous rod.

FIGS. 2A-C illustrate the use of the tether guide 200 to secure a safetyseat 180 (not shown in FIG. 2A for purposes of clarity). The safety seat180 is positioned on the car seat 110 and may be mounted on a seat base182. The safety seat 180 includes a tether 190 extending from atethering point 184 on the safety seat 180. In securing the safety seat180 to the vehicle or the car seat 110, the tether 190 is guided aroundthe tether bars 204 a-c of the tether guide 200. The positioning of thetether bars 204 a-c allows the tether 190 to be guided so as to preventsubstantial contact between the tether 190 and the top end 112 of theseat back. Moreover, depending upon the design of the safety seat 180and the exact position of the tether point 184, the tether guide 200 maybe effective to prevent pressure contact of the tether 190 with at leastan upper portion of the front surface 113 a of the seat back 111.Further, depending upon the exact design and shape of the back surface113 b of the seat back 111, the tether guide 200 may be effective toprevent pressure contact of the tether 190 with the back surface 113 bof the seat back 111 or with at least an upper portion of the backsurface 113 b. As non-limiting examples, the upper portion of the frontsurface 113 a and back surface 113 b are shown in FIG. 2C at 213 a and213 b respectively. The term “pressure contact” is used to indicatesignificant contact with the front or back surfaces 113 a and 113 brespectively such that removal of the tether would reveal an indentationor discoloration of the front or back surfaces 113 a, 113 b caused bythe force of the tether 190 against the front or back surfaces 113 a,113 b. A free end of the tether 190 is provided with a hook 192 adaptedto engage a tether latch, such as a bar 120, positioned on the back ofthe car seat 110 (or alternately to a floor mounted support of thevehicle).

FIGS. 3-5 illustrate tether guides according to additional embodimentsof the invention. First, with reference to FIG. 3, a tether guide 300 isprovided with seat back attachments 302 a-b and a tether bar 304 with acontact surface 306 for the tether. The contact surface 306 is contouredand disposed sufficiently away from the seat back 111 so as to guide thetether around the top end 112 of the car seat 110 without substantialcontact with the top end 112, as well as without pressure contact withat least an upper portion of the front and back surfaces 113 a, 113 b(see FIG. 2C) of the seat back 111.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a tether guide 400 is provided with seat backattachments 402 a-b and tether bars 404 a-c. Unlike the embodiment ofFIGS. 1-2C, the tether guide 400 is not configured as a continuous bar,but rather includes two transitional segments 408 branching from eachseat back attachments 402 a-b. The tether bars 404 a-c extend from theend of each transitional bar 408 and from the intersection of thetransitional bar 408 and the seat back attachment 402.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a tether guide 500 similar to the tether guide400 of FIG. 4 is provided. The tether bar 500 includes a single seatback attachment 502 adapted to engage a seat back having a singleheadrest sleeve. The seat back attachment 502 is preferably providedwith a rectangular cross-section to prevent rotational movement.

Thus, the embodiments of the present invention provide a convenient wayof guiding a seat back tether without substantially deformation ordiscoloration of the seat.

While the exemplary embodiments illustrated in the Figures and describedabove are presently preferred, it should be understood that theseembodiments are offered by way of example only. Other embodiments mayinclude, for example, different techniques for performing the sameoperations. The invention is not limited to a particular embodiment, butextends to various modifications, combinations, and permutations thatnevertheless fall within the scope and spirit of the appended claims

1. A guide for a safety seat tether, comprising: at least one seat backattachment for securing the guide to a seat back, wherein the seat backhas a top end; and at least one tether contacting structure adapted toguide a tether around the top end and supported at least in part by theat least one seat back attachment, wherein the at least one tethercontacting structure extends in front of the at least one seat backattachment.
 2. The guide of claim 1, wherein the at least one seat backattachment includes at least one insert adapted to be inserted into aheadrest sleeve of the seat back.
 3. The guide of claim 2, wherein theat least one insert includes two inserts adapted to be inserted into twocorresponding headrest sleeves of the seat back.
 4. The guide of claim1, wherein the at least one tether contacting structure includes atleast two tether bars being spaced apart from one another.
 5. The guideof claim 1, wherein the tether contacting structure includes a contactsurface that is adapted to contact the tether, wherein said surfacebeing disposed sufficiently away from the seat back attachment so as toprevent pressure contact of said tether with at least an upper portionof a front surface of said seat back.
 6. The guide of claim 5, whereinthe contact surface is contoured to guide the tether so as to preventpressure contact with at least an upper portion of a back surface of theseat back.
 7. The guide of claim 5, wherein the contact surface iscontoured to guide the tether to prevent substantial contact with a backsurface of the seat back.
 8. The guide of claim 1, wherein the at leastone seat back attachment and the tether contacting structure areintegrally formed.
 9. The guide of claim 8, wherein the at least oneseat back attachment and the tether contacting structure form asubstantially continuous rod.
 10. The guide of claim 9, wherein the rodincludes bends to form transitions between two or more segments of thecontinuous rod.
 11. The guide of claim 10, wherein at least one of thesegments is either the seat back attachment or a tether bar.
 12. Theguide of claim 10, wherein the tether contacting structure comprises atleast two tether bars, and wherein at least one of the segments is atransition segment positioned between at least one tether bar and one ofanother tether bar and the seat back attachment.
 13. The guide of claim9, wherein the rod includes: two end segments comprising the seat backattachment; three central segments, wherein one central segment is afirst tether bar, one central segment is a second tether bar, and thethird central segment is a third tether bar; and one or more transitionsegments, each transition segment joining a central segment with atleast one of another central segment and an end segment.
 14. The guideof claim 9, wherein the rod is formed of a hollow tube.
 15. A guide fora safety seat tether, comprising: means for guiding a tether around atop end of a seat back without substantial contact with the top end; andmeans for securing the means for guiding to the seat back, wherein themeans for guiding extends in front of and in back of the means forsecuring.
 16. The guide of claims 15, wherein said means for guidingprevents pressure contact of said tether with at least an upper portionof a front and back surface of the seat back when said means for guidingis in use.
 17. A safety seat tether guide system, comprising: a vehicleseat having a seat back with a top end, the vehicle seat being adaptedto accommodate a safety seat; and a tether guide, the tether guidecomprising: at least one seat back attachment for securing the guide tothe seat back; and at least one tether contacting structure adapted toguide a tether around the top end of the seat back, wherein the at leastone tether contacting structure extends in front of and in back of theat least one seat back attachment and extends substantially parallel tothe top end and being supported at least in part by the at least oneseat back attachment.
 18. The system of claim 17, wherein the seat backincludes at least one headrest sleeve, wherein said at least oneattachment is adapted to be inserted in said at least one headrestsleeve.
 19. The system of claim 17, further comprising: a tether latchadapted to secure a free end of a tether.
 20. The system of claim 19,wherein the tether latch is a tether rod adapted to receive a hook onthe free end of the tether.
 21. The system of claim 20, wherein thetether rod is positioned on a back side of the seat back, wherein afront side of the seat back being opposite the back side and beingadapted to receive the safety seat therein.
 22. A guide for a safetyseat tether, comprising: a seat attachment having two legs for insertioninto headrest sleeves positioned at a top end of a back of said seat;and a plurality of tether bars supported by said two legs and adapted toguide a tether around the top end of the seat back, wherein saidplurality of tether bars includes at least two sets of substantiallyparallel tether bars.
 23. The guide as recited in claim 22, wherein saidplurality of tether bars are adapted to prevent pressure contact of saidtether with at least an upper portion of a front and back surface ofsaid seat.
 24. The guide as recited in claim 22, wherein one set ofsubstantially parallel tether bars includes at least three tether bars.25. (canceled)
 26. A method of tethering a safety seat positionedagainst a seat back, comprising: securing one end of a tether to saidsafety seat; guiding the tether around a top end of the seat backwithout contacting said top end by using a tether bar runningsubstantially parallel to the top end and having a contact surface thatmakes contact with the tether; and securing another end of the tether toa tether latch.
 27. A method of securing a child safety seat to a carseat comprising the steps of: attaching one end of a tether to a back ofthe child safety seat; securing a tether guide to a top end of a back ofthe car seat by use of a seat back attachment inserted into headrestsleeves of said car seat; guiding the tether around the top end of thecar seat back without contacting said top end when the child safety seatis secured by passing the tether over said tether guide, wherein saidguiding is performed by having the tether contact a tether contactingstructure that extends in front of and in back of the seat backattachment; and securing the other end of said tether to a tether latch.28. The guide of claim 1, wherein the at least one tether contactingstructure extends in back of the at least one seat back attachment. 29.The guide of claim 1, wherein the at least one tether contactingstructure is adapted to guide a tether around the top end of the seatback without substantial contact with the top end.
 30. The system ofclaim 17, wherein the at least one tether contacting structure isadapted to guide the tether around the top end of the seat back withoutsubstantial contact with the top end.
 31. The guide as recited in claim22, wherein the plurality of tether bars is adapted to guide the tetheraround the top end of the seat back so as to prevent substantial contactof said tether with said top end.